Stonehenge: Why Did They Build It?

Welcome to Sleepytime History™ — true stories from the pages of history for a full night's rest.Tonight, unwind with history and drift into the stonehenge mystery, told as a tranquil history for serenity and harmony. The story opens with a grieving king named Aurelius, weeping over the graves of noblemen murdered under a broken truce, and with the merlin legend that follows — the wizard who spoke of great stones in Ireland, carried out of Africa by giants and holding miraculous powers of healing. These are history legends, of course, first set down in the pages of geoffrey of monmouth some nine hundred years ago, yet the truth of neolithic britain proves stranger still. The sick really did travel to salisbury plain in search of a cure, and the ground still lies scattered with chips hacked from the bluestones by desperate hands. The six-tonne altar stone at the heart of the circle came from the far north of Scotland, hauled the length of an island by methods that predate the wheel and remain unsettled to this day. And the ancient druids, with their firelit rituals, arrived thousands of years too late to have raised a single stone. Let this be an audiobook to soothe the mind, one of the audio books that help you get sleepy among the greatest minds in history — a home for anyone who loves audiobooks of history for serenity, history to soothe the mind, and history for sleep. There is even a king arthur pendragon waiting at the very end.Let this quiet story of mystery and belief guide you into a restful night's sleep.If you're new here, share where you're tuning in from or request a story for a future bedtime episode. And if you enjoy these peaceful history stories, please like and subscribe — it helps us continue sharing calm, true tales from the past.Chapters:00:00:00 Stonehenge: The Ancient Mystery No One Has Solved00:42:58 Hopelessly Lost in the New World: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca01:14:22 Genghis Khan: From Outcast to Master of the Known World02:00:13 Ernest Shackleton's Endurance: Stranded at the End of the World02:34:24 King Arthur, Camelot, the Man Behind the Myth03:21:40 Lost Dutchman Gold Mine: Treasure, Legend, and a Dead Man's Secret03:59:55 Man in the Iron Mask: Royal Cover-Up or Something Worse?04:46:14 The Holy Grail: Lost Relic or Medieval Invention?05:34:15 How Jeanne Baret, Disguised as a Man, Became the First Woman to Circle the Globe06:19:58 Spartacus: Rise of the Gladiator Army07:04:13 The Cottingley Fairies Hoax: How Two Little Girls Tricked the World07:52:43 The Amazons: Warrior Women of the Ancient SteppeWatch on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/0KP99A1YtXj7wsHgAd7ukmFor early access to new episodes and ad-free listening, join us on Patreon — https://www.patreon.com/SleepytimeHistoryOr Buy Us a Coffee – https://buymeacoffee.com/sleepytimehistoryWritten and produced by Pamela ErwinNarration by Oliver HaleMusic by Pia MayaVisuals by Ben BlightThis podcast contains AI-generated content.Sleepytime History™ is a trademark owned by Pamela Erwin.© 2026 Moonlight Productions. All rights reserved.